In retail stores, often there are often no detailed location identifications assigned to physical shelf or storage space where products are kept. This issue is difficult to address because many retailer systems are antiquated and simply cannot support the capture and maintenance of ever-changing product-to-location mapping. Further, store branches (e.g., retail locations) within the same company may not have the same layout or carry the same stock keeping unit (SKU) mix, which renders the creation of a generic location-based product map daunting.
Without specific product-to-location mapping, consumers and retail workers have no easy way to locate a product they want to purchase, inventory count, restock, etc. This frustrates those who do not know the store's particular product layout. Consumers and workers can spend much time searching for the general area of a product even before finding the product's exact location on a shelf. Furthermore, where multiple products are to be purchased or handled, it can be difficult to create and follow an efficient path through the store to reduce walking time by searching and backtracking. For workers and consumers alike, this inefficiency costs them time and causes annoyance. For retailers paying workers, this costs productive, paid work time that might be spent doing better, value-added tasks.